Armstrong Clark

[gt2003]

Here are a few more shots of the rustic brown (left) and sierra redwood (right). The stain had dried for a few hours and the sun had gone down to where it wasn't causing too much glare. You can see the difference between the PT pine and the stained area. The top part of the stain area is darker due to some concrete that I knocked off the wood prior to staining.(OK, I'll quit posting pics now)

[bigchaz]

Alright well just finished a nice 2k dollar job with Armstrong clark cedar semi-trans stain.

Stain went on very nice. With woodtux I would have been right around 10 gallons for this deck. I was a bit nervous with the AC because I only had 2 pails total. I ended up using under 7 gallons!! So great coverage and IMO this deck was on the dry side for most of my decks. I imagine I would have used close to a pail for newer wood.

Sprays very easily. I use airless and of course you still get a cloud, but I could put it on heavy and have my guy backbrush. Didn't have a problem with over application doing one heavy coat. No problems at all with lap marks either. Penetrated quick enough where you didn't have tons of stain running down the spindles. Im not the best sprayer so I get drips underneath rail caps but with a guy backbrushing there's no problems at all. Since the stain soaks in pretty quick I did end up misting some rails later on that looked a bit light. But on most decks one heavy spraying would have been just right. Put two coats wet on wet on the floor with the pad. I tested it when it dried by putting another light coat on a few boards but the difference was unnoticeable. This tells me that my application probably gave it just the right amount of oil

I didn't realize until reading the can that the wood was supposed to have 24 hours to dry. It rained the night before so most of the surface was still damp. Rails were dry to the touch so I went ahead and stained them all. Wasnt a problem at all that they weren't completely dry. The surface was damp in the morning when we got there but by 11 when we finished all the rails the floor was good to go.

I shook the pail up like I do for woodtux but when I opened it, the stain still needed some mixing. This makes the pour spout kinda pointless, but for my first time using an open stain pail, I didn't have any problems. A few stirs and the color evened up in the pail and I started spraying

My favorite part was the consistent color of the stain. Didn't have to worry about a huge color shift when the stain dried overnight. Wood was dry to the touch in about 30 minutes on most areas. Floor was in full sun by the time we padded it so it dried in less than 10. Did two coats with a pad on the floor (wood was 9 yrs old). Staircase appears to have been newer, but with just one coat on that the wood looked incredible. I might even consider using AC for newer wood as well as the older stuff. Used cedar semi trans which will probably be the only color I offer. Its a perfect shade of brown...not too dark not too light. And what you see when putting it on the wood is what you get when it dries. Might lighten up a bit when it soaks in but other than that the color is constant. Cedar semi gave the wood the color I like so Ill probably just stock that. I don't much care for red tones and I don't like dark dark stains on wood either. Cedar was just perfect

Ill keep using woodtux on most of my newer jobs, but armstrong is definitly a new addition to the inventory to use on older wood or decks that just don't look their best. Much cheaper to use AC too than to try and moisturize old wood with 40/gallon woodtux and quicker than two stepping with timberoil. The AC stain really brought back the beauty in some of the boards that I normally wouldn't have super high hopes for. Some wood was replaced probably 2 years prior, but the stain blended everything in

I didn't know how bad the oil would be, so we were super cautious about combustion with the tarps we were using. Judging from the heat of the rags if I had to guess Id say that fire is more of a risk with AC compared to WT. But we hosed down the tarps and I lay them out to dry when I get home so no problems. Just be smart and degrease stuff, you'll be fine. Used the empty metal pail to put old rags and plastic in. Perfect for the trash on a jobsite.

My nose may be used to WT but the smell on AC was certainly a bit of a change for me. Stuff lingers for a while in the truck but we'll see how it smells tomorrow morning. Did a lot of leaning over the rail since the deck was high, so with my shirt smelling like it did I just put it in the burn pile.

[bigchaz]

Didnt have the best sun when we finished but heres some shots that show you the color. Facing the house was all shaded so you cant see the color as well

Deck surface was about 26*14 with one corner angled off. Staircase had about a dozen treads with a small platform on the bottom (about 4*4). Stairs led to a brick patio underneath

[bigchaz]

tried to do a sequence...before...cleaned...stained
Stained pic has bad sun so its not nice enough for the website

Sorry for all the pics... I had to beat greg and all his railroad ties haha

[Scott Paul]

Looks very nice!

[gt2003]

Oh yeah Charlie, wait until I actually start my project, lol, pictures galore!!!

The deck looks great. Take care, Greg

(by the way, it's a landscape timber, hehehe. I did stain some leftover deck boards and they look the same though)

[RPetry]

Charlie,

Very fine review and comments. Nice pictures. Nice job. A-C goes on and looks real good on PT SYP.

[Jarrod]

Thanx for the review Charlie. Nice job.

[MMI Enterprises]

Yup...that is a sweet color. Can't wait to try that one out!

[YVPW]

Looks Great Charlie! I'm sure the homeowners are pleased.

[Beth n Rod]

Very nice Charlie!
Beth

[Scott Paul]

We are now fully stocked with all of the Armstrong Deck Stains

[bigchaz]

awesome!

By the way I went back today since homeowner was worried about a huge thunderstorm we had about 3 hours after staining and the wood looked perfect. The color was exactly the same as when it was applied. Rain made no differance and it reinforces my positive reaction to the next to no color shift with the stain

[James]

I had A totally diferenetf reqest wehn gnidio a ecdk .. I tincksh fo ussyp rpipingsd....

[Scott Paul]

I had A totally diferenetf reqest wehn gnidio a ecdk .. I tincksh fo ussyp rpipingsd....

huh??